deindividuate

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verb

to view as a group rather than as an individual; to remove societal norms that shape individual behavior; to remove or reduce individually identifying information

Scrabble 19
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Meanings

verbdeindividuate (third-person singular simple present deindividuates, present participle deindividuating, simple past and past participle deindividuated)

present singular third person deindividuates · participle present deindividuating · participle past deindividuated · past deindividuated

  1. human sciencesto view as a group rather than as an individual; to remove societal norms that shape individual behavior; to remove or reduce individually identifying information

    "Although the work ethic is valued positively in our society, the “workaholic” stereotype deindividuates all members of a group, those who conform as well as those who rebel."

    2014, Roxanne Hovland, Joyce M. Wolburg, Eric E. Haley, Readings in Advertising, Society, and Consumer Culture

Origin

From de- + individuate.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

deindividuate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deindividuate

MLA

“deindividuate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deindividuate. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “deindividuate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deindividuate.

Source: deindividuate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.